Author Interviews

Books
Arts

The Bonds Of Friendship Stay Strong In 'Stranger'

8:02pm August 04, 2015

by NPR Staff

Newbery Medal-winning author Rebecca Stead says her latest, Goodbye Stranger, is about love and how it helps a trio of seventh-grade girls stay friends through the challenges of middle school.

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"Anytime you're in the wild with a beautiful animal you're going to feel good," says Susan Casey, author of Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins.

Exploring The 'Wild And Haunting World Of Dolphins'

4:28pm August 04, 2015

In her new book, Voices in the Ocean, Susan Casey describes the life of dolphins and details some new threats the animals face, such as organized dolphin kills and man-made sounds in the ocean.

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Books
Arts

Aviator Beryl Markham Soars Again In 'Paris Wife' Author's New Book

1:31pm August 04, 2015

by NPR Staff

"It is my fate to illuminate the lives of these one-of-a-kind notable women that have been somehow forgotten by history," says Paula McLain. She shines her spotlight on Markham in Circling the Sun.

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The U.S. military's need for longer-lasting rations led to the invention of many modern processed foods.

Cheetos, Canned Foods, Deli Meat: How The U.S. Army Shapes Our Diet

11:40am August 03, 2015

by Nadia Whitehead

Many of the processed foods that we eat — and the way they're made — were invented not for us, but for soldiers, says the author of the new book Combat-Ready Kitchen.

Books
Arts

A Study Of Gods And Human Nature In 'Tiberius'

4:04pm August 02, 2015

Under Tiberius is a new novel about deceit and crime. The main character is the man who came to be known as Jesus Christ. NPR's Scott Simon talks to author Nick Tosches.

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Luther Campbell Of 2 Live Crew On Fame, Obscenity And Community

8:28am August 02, 2015

by NPR Staff

Before joining the notoriously shocking rap crew, Campbell was a party-rocking DJ in Miami. Even then, he knew that being aggressively different could lead to success.

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Books
Arts

A Look Back On 'Middle Passage': The Evolution Of A Literary Classic

6:55pm August 01, 2015

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Twenty-five years after Charles Johnson's Middle Passage — which dwells with race, class and gender in 19th-century America — won the National Book Award, he reflects on his book's evolving meaning.

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Sarah Hepola is the personal essays editor at Salon.com.

Books
Arts

A Path From 'Blackout' Drunkenness To Sobriety And Self-Acceptance

4:31pm July 31, 2015

Writer Sarah Hepola once got so drunk before giving a presentation to 300 people that she didn't remember it the next day. In Blackout, her memoir, Hepola wrestles with her reasons for drinking.

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NPR's Robert Siegel and Michael Minielly, a Mercedes-Benz representative, drive a new S550 4Matic, which allows for semi-autonomous driving.

Hands-Free, Mind-Free: What We Lose Through Automation

12:45pm July 30, 2015

by NPR Staff

Robert Siegel is joined by author Nicholas Carr for a look at the future of automation and automobiles. Carr's new book, The Glass Cage, warns against the rise of automation in our lives.

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Anil Ananthaswamy is a consultant for New Scientist Magazine.

A Sense Of Self: What Happens When Your Brain Says You Don't Exist

8:49am July 30, 2015

In his new book, The Man Who Wasn't There, Anil Ananthaswamy examines the ways people think of themselves — and how those perceptions can be distorted by certain brain conditions.

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